bestfiction Chapter 454
Chapter 454
“Pretty sister, you won’t run off with that bad guy while I’m away from the manor, will you?” Xu Qingshi asked Li Zhiwei with a worried expression.“What nonsense are you talking? In just a few days, I’ll be marrying into your Anwang Manor.” Li Zhiwei tapped Xu Qingshi’s nose.
“Pretty sister, you don’t need to bring a lot of dowry.” Xu Qingshi remembered how the dowry Li Zhiwei had brought last time all ended up with Zhu Hanyu’s father, and how Li’s family had struggled to provide so much.
Their manor should be able to support pretty sister and himself.
There was no need for her to bring so many things.
If it came down to it, he could just have his father go out and earn money for them to spend.
“Hmm?” Li Zhiwei didn’t quite understand what he meant at first. Not bring a lot of dowry?
Wasn’t she still supposed to bring some?
Besides, the Anwang Manor had already sent over a considerable betrothal gift. If she didn’t bring anything back, what would people in the capital think of her Li family?
“Pretty sister, that big box and the bed of yours are still sitting in our house,” Xu Qingshi quickly said. He didn’t want to see another big box again.
After all, because of that big box, he, Xie Yanzhi, and Jiang Yu had taken quite a few beatings.
“Oh, that? We won’t bring those.” Li Zhiwei laughed as she spoke.
“Pretty sister, you have to believe me—our Anwang Manor isn’t poor. I’ve checked, and my grandmother’s private treasury is still full of good stuff. Later, I’ll go ask for some to give to you.”
Fearing Li Zhiwei might misunderstand that the Anwang Manor was truly broke, Xu Qingshi hurried to explain.
But he didn’t know that his dear grandmother would never let him near her private treasury again.
After all, the keepsake between her and the old prince had almost been given away by this wasteful grandson.
The old princess’s heart still ached at the thought.
“Don’t worry. Even if your Anwang Manor really goes broke and can’t afford food, I can still make sure you don’t go hungry,” Li Zhiwei said with amusement.
“Then wouldn’t that make my father a kept man?” Xu Qingshi pouted.
“Maybe your father has bad teeth and prefers soft meals?” Li Zhiwei chuckled at her own joke.
At that moment, Xu Heming, who was racing back on horseback, sneezed loudly.
“Your Highness, are you alright?” Qingmu asked in concern.
“I’m fine. Keep moving.” Xu Heming frowned.
Xu Heming wondered uneasily if Li Zhiwei was upset that he wasn’t in the capital so close to their wedding day.
With that thought, his eagerness to return surged, and he feared she would blame him if he was late.
“Your Highness, maybe we should rest for a bit. Have something to eat before continuing,” Qingmu urged, worried about Xu Heming’s relentless, sleepless journey.
“No need.” Xu Heming didn’t hesitate to refuse.
“But Your Highness, if you collapse from exhaustion by the time you return to the capital, how will you welcome the princess in your best form?” Qingmu argued, genuinely afraid his master might fall ill on the road.
Xu Heming, who had been about to push onward, stopped at this.
“Find a place to rest for a while.”
He thought it over—if he looked sickly on his wedding day, it would indeed harm his image.
So he decided to stop and recuperate.
“Yes, Your Highness. There’s a town not far ahead. We can rest there and have some hot food,” Qingmu quickly suggested.
“Fine.” Xu Heming agreed without hesitation.
After all, a hot meal on the road would settle his stomach.
He wondered what Li Zhiwei was doing now—and whether that annoying Shangguan Mu had gone to bother her again.
Xu Heming also thought of Jiang Yuanrang.
He wondered if Qingsong could bring him back before the wedding.
If not, would Yao Shuheng have to escort her out of the Li residence?
The thought of Yao Shuheng’s feelings for Li Zhiwei made Xu Heming deeply unwilling.
But the Li family had no other close relatives. And there was no one else to act as her older brother to see her off.
“Have the arrangements been made to fetch the Yao family from Qujing?” Xu Heming thought it over and decided it was better to bring the Yao family.
After all, a cousin also counted as an elder brother.
And since Li Zhiwei was about to marry him anyway, having Yao Shuheng personally hand her over might finally put an end to his hopes—and that wasn’t such a bad thing.
“Rest assured, Your Highness. I’ve already sent Qingsong. They should be on the road back to the capital by now,” Qingmu reported.
“Good.” Xu Heming was very satisfied with that.
He looked forward eagerly to the upcoming wedding day.
But unlike Xu Heming’s anticipation, Zhu Jingchen in the palace was in quite a state.
“Your Majesty, please stop pacing. You’re giving me a headache!” the Empress said helplessly as she watched him walk back and forth.
“Empress, the day of Xu Heming’s wedding is almost here, and he hasn’t returned yet. I can’t help but worry,” Zhu Jingchen fretted. If no one was there to greet the bride at the Anwang Manor, that third prince of Qingling Kingdom would have an opportunity to steal her away.
He had heard that the third prince had visited the Li residence again yesterday and had even tried to harm Xu Qingshi.
Thinking about it, Zhu Jingchen felt a chill for the boy.
“Anwang hasn’t returned yet, but he still has family. If necessary, let Qingshi receive the bride on his father’s behalf,” the Empress suggested. After all, Anwang had no brothers.
Xu Qingshi acting as his father’s proxy wasn’t without precedent, and it wouldn’t be strange.
“Exactly! Let Qingshi do it!” Zhu Jingchen was annoyed that he hadn’t thought of this himself.
“Your Majesty, you knew the wedding was approaching, yet you sent Anwang so far away,” the Empress remarked, implying that the emperor’s concern was feigned.
If he truly cared, couldn’t he have deputized that task to someone else?
Even if he didn’t trust anyone else, surely he trusted Jin Yan?
But now he was anxious.
The Empress suspected that the emperor might not really want Anwang to marry Lady Li.
“Your Majesty, if Lady Li ends up marrying that third prince of Qingling Kingdom, wouldn’t the Li family’s wealth go to Qingling Kingdom too?”
The Empress subtly reminded the emperor, hoping he wouldn’t act foolishly.
After all, letting Li Zhiwei marry a foreign prince would be far worse than keeping her in the Lannuo Kingdom.
Why hand such an advantage over to Qingling?
“How could that be allowed?” Zhu Jingchen said without hesitation.
If the Li family’s fortune went to Qingling Kingdom, it would be like shooting themselves in the foot.
He didn’t covet her riches himself, but he certainly didn’t want to see them used against his own country.
“Send word: order Wen Zhaonan to do whatever it takes to detain that third prince of Qingling Kingdom and keep him from disrupting Anwang’s wedding,” Zhu Jingchen commanded.
“Yes, Your Majesty!” Lord Liu immediately dispatched someone to relay the message to Wen Zhaonan.
“And send someone to urge Anwang back to the capital. What is he thinking, not returning yet? Doesn’t he want to get married?”
Zhu Jingchen felt that holding off Shangguan Mu wasn't enough, so he quickly sent someone to deliver a message to Xu Heming.